London: The Republic of Balochistan, in a message marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, has urged the international community to reassess its engagement with Pakistan, warning that continued military cooperation and financial assistance to Islamabad could pose risks to global security.
Expressing condolences to the victims of the 9/11 attacks and their families, the Republic of Balochistan said that providing Pakistan with military aid, missile-upgradation assistance and fighter-jet engines amounted to strengthening a state it alleges has historically harboured and supported terrorist networks.
The statement questioned why successive US administrations had not held Pakistan’s military establishment fully accountable over Osama bin Laden’s presence in Abbottabad, where he was killed by US forces in 2011.
“If Afghanistan was punished for providing sanctuary to Osama bin Laden,” the statement asked, why had Pakistan not faced comparable accountability for alleged provision of weapons, sanctuary, training and logistical support to forces hostile to the United States and its allies.
The Republic of Balochistan argued that these issues were not merely historical, but had continuing implications for regional and international security. It warned that treating countries accused of harbouring or facilitating militant networks as trusted partners could create conditions for another major terrorist attack.
The statement also linked its security concerns to Balochistan’s substantial natural resources, including natural gas, oil, copper, gold and critical minerals, as well as its strategic coastline and seaports.
It alleged that Pakistan’s military establishment sought to retain control over Balochistan’s resources and strategic access while using regional instability as leverage for political, military and financial concessions.
The Republic of Balochistan consequently called on the United States to fundamentally reassess its relationship with Pakistan, including military and civilian assistance, and urged consideration of recognition of the Republic of Balochistan.
According to the statement, such recognition could prevent Pakistan from using Balochistan’s territory, coastline, mineral wealth and strategic position as instruments of regional leverage.
The message further raised concerns over the future security of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, warning of what it described as a catastrophic international threat should nuclear weapons, materials or capabilities ever fall into the hands of extremist forces or be transferred to other countries.
The Republic of Balochistan maintained that the international community should address what it described as the underlying structures driving terrorism, extremism and prolonged regional conflict rather than continuing to strengthen them.
It also described Pakistan’s military presence in Balochistan as contested by Baloch nationalists, alleging that the region remains under an imposed military occupation and that the continued extraction of its natural resources warrants urgent international scrutiny.
The statement concluded by portraying recognition of the Republic of Balochistan as a potentially historic strategic decision that could alter the regional balance of power and establish a new framework for peace and stability.
It said that confronting structures allegedly enabling terrorism and prolonged conflict was also part of delivering justice to the victims of 9/11 — not only through remembrance, but through accountability and efforts to prevent history from repeating itself.
